Israeli recipe
How to make Hummus
חומוס
Eaten across the Levant; in Israel, served in hummus bars everywhere

A smooth purée of cooked chickpeas, tahini (sesame paste), lemon and garlic, spread on a plate with olive oil on top and scooped up with warm pita.
Ingredients
- 2 tins (about 800 g) cooked chickpeas, drained (keep a few whole ones to serve)
- 120 ml tahini (sesame paste)
- Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
- 1 small garlic clove
- Half a teaspoon of salt
- 60 ml ice-cold water
- Olive oil, paprika and chopped parsley to serve
Method
- Put the chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice and salt in a food processor and blend until crumbly.
- Add the tahini and blend again, pouring in the ice-cold water a little at a time, until the hummus is very smooth and light. This takes a few minutes.
- Taste and add more lemon or salt if needed.
- Spread on a plate with the back of a spoon, making a hollow in the middle.
- Pour olive oil into the hollow, add a few whole chickpeas, a pinch of paprika and some parsley. Serve with warm pita.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
Many Israelis eat hummus as a full meal at lunchtime in a hummusia, a small restaurant that often serves nothing else.



